Inheritance
by njayne58
Summary: Tony gets his inheritance


Set in AU before Agent Afloat episode while Tony is at sea. It could have happened. Didn't, but could have.

I wanted to post this one before they have Tony's father on the show next winter because he dies in this one. I of course am only borrowing the characters because they belong to CBS and Mr. B/

Chapter One

The captain of the Seahawk considered this one of the hardest parts of his job. Notifying parents and loved ones of a loss of a sailor was bad enough. People ashore had each other to comfort and care for each other, but notifying a sailor of a death in the family was the hardest thing he had to do. Every man reacted differently, but it was never good.

He looked at the printed email in his hand. He asked his exec "Where can I find him? In his quarters or his office?"

His exec looked at his computer screen. "Don't know, sir. Let me call his quarters first. It is pretty early." After talking a few minutes on the com line, he turned to the captain and said, "Proctor, his bunk mate, says he hasn't slept there since the first night out. Proctor says he bumped the man's cot, and the next thing Proctor knew he was in a headlock with a knife to his throat. The agent apologized but hasn't slept there since. Proctor thinks he's bunking in his office."

"Damn, "said the captain. "I should know about my men. I guess he is not technically my man...he's the NCIS agent. Has he got anyone on board to be with him when I give him the news?"

The exec looked uncomfortable. "Well, you know since he arrested Evans with the drug smuggling charges, he hasn't been very welcome in the junior officers' mess. And you never invited him to the senior officers'. I think he has spent some time with the doctor down in the infirmary."

"His job is neither fish nor fowl, not an officer nor enlisted man. He's done a good job, but I don't think I've spoken to him outside of duty reports." the captain sighed, "I've been too busy with this shakedown cruise, but I should have made sure he was doing ok. Call his cell. Tell him to meet me in his office in fifteen minutes."

Fifteen minutes later, the captain knocked on the door of the NCIS agent's door. "Come in."

The captain looked around the small office. He noticed a rolled sleeping bag in one corner. A couple of file cabinets and a desk almost filled the room.

He began, "Agent DiNozzo, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. Would you like to sit down?"

The NCIS agent nodded. "Sure, sir, the other chair's in the corner. So, what bad news do you have? Am I being transferred again?"

The captain looked at the agent. He was thinner than he remembered, and there were lines around his eyes that he hadn't noticed before. DiNozzo continued, "Well, maybe a transfer isn't bad news, so what else is there?"

The captain hesitated; he hated this moment, when he was going to shatter someone's life. "Well, son, there's no easy way to tell you this. Your father, Anthony DiNozzo Sr. died two days ago. I'm sorry it took so long for the news to come. You are entitled to compassionate leave. We can get you on a helicopter out tomorrow."

DiNozzo had paled, but his voice was steady, "That won't be necessary, sir. I haven't seen or spoken to my father for more than twenty years. I'm sorry you had to be the one to tell me. It can't be easy for you to have to tell someone this kind of news."

The captain was not shocked--what with divorce and re-marriage, a lot of his men had lost contact with the non-custodial parent. "Well, I'm sure it is not news you wanted to hear even if you..."

"Captain," DiNozzo interrupted, "Don't worry about it. He disavowed me when I was twelve after my mother died. It's ancient history. I was dead to him and him to me for a long time."

"Please join us in the senior officers' mess at dinner. I should have invited you a long time ago."

DiNozzo smiled, but the captain could see that the smile didn't reach his eyes. "It's not necessary, sir. I know they resent me arresting Evans, but he was guilty. They don't want to eat with me. Besides, I do rounds at meal time."

"Rounds?" questioned the captain.

"Yeah, "the agent replied, "just like a beat cop. Or a mall security guard." There was an edge of bitterness in the man's voice.

"Agent DiNozzo, I am going to have to insist. Captain's table at 01700. "

The agent nodded, "Sure, but don't tell anyone about my father. It's not something I care to discuss."

The captain noticed a garment bag handing from one of the ceiling pipes. "What's that?" he asked.

DiNozzo smiled--this time a genuine smile. He unzipped the bag. Inside was a beautifully tailored suit and a sparkling white shirt. "I had it made, and Seaman Wake finished the tailoring. I look at it sometimes. I know its shallow, but I miss my clothes."

"Everyman has to have something from home. I have a fishing pole in my office. Can't use it at sea--it's for fly-fishing, but it reminds me that there is life off the boat."

DiNozzo re-zipped the bag. "Thank you, sir. I will try to make the meal, but if something happens....a fight or theft, I will be on duty."

The captain nodded and said, "Arrest them and be there."

Chapter Two

DiNozzo had made his afternoon "rounds". There was no part of the ship he hadn't explored in the last three months. He had found nooks and dead ends where sailors had set up illegal poker games or hidden contraband. After his first month, the men had quit trying to have illegal games. Now he was going to the large gym area to run. He missed running, but his attempts to run the decks had caused him to sprain an ankle so he confined his running to the treadmill.

A number of sailors were working out at weight benches and other machines. He found an empty treadmill and started running. After a few minutes he zoned out everything but the feeling of running. After a half an hour, he slowed down and looked around the room. A couple of sailors were pointing at him and then looking at the television. He got off the treadmill and went over to the flat screen mounted on the wall.

The news channel crawl at the bottom of the screen read "Anthony DiNozzo head of Monarch Industries has died. Long lost son is being sought."

"You related to those DiNozzo's?"asked one of the men.

DiNozzo said, "You think I'd be working here if I was heir to all that money?"

He said to himself, "Lost--I've never been lost. Disowned, dismissed and disinherited, but never lost. He always knew where I was. I wonder who'll get the family fortune. "

The sailor who questioned him spoke, "You look like the guy." He pointed to a picture on the screen. It was of a newly minted police academy graduate. Another picture followed of a basketball player in an Ohio State uniform.

The news anchors voice "Lawyers for Monarch Industries have released a statement that Anthony DiNozzo Junior is being sought. He apparently works for an obscure government agency, but all attempts to get information from the Naval Criminal Investigation Service have been met with a stone wall. The website of the agency has no listing of Anthony DiNozzo as an employee. "

The sailor said, "I thought you said it wasn't you."

DiNozzo had already left. He went back to his office for a minute, and then went to the ship's communication room. He asked the radio operator to put him through to a certain number. After a few minutes, he heard a familiar voice. "Forensics, Abby Scuito speaking."

"Hey Abby," he began.

"Tony!!" she shouted. "How are you? We all miss you...Gibbs has been more Gibbsy than ever and Tim is at his wit's end on how to defuse him. He can't make Gibbs behave like you did."

"Make him behave!" said DiNozzo. "No one makes Gibbs behave."

"Yes, but you could get to him when he was in one of his fugue states. Tony, you're all over the news."

"Yeah, so much for the quiet life. At least here at sea no press can get to me. So, are you the one I thank for blocking the newshounds?"

"Yes," said Abby modestly, "I just reinstated the protocols from when you were undercover. You should have seen Gibbs when that news woman called us an obscure agency. I thought his head was going to pop off."

"Well, thanks Abby. I just wanted to thank you. In a day or so, the news cycle will move on and things will be back to normal."

"Things will not be back to normal until you are back here.'" said Abby.

"Got to go, Abbs. Thanks for the care package--best oatmeal raisin cookies ever. Bye."

"Goodbye Tony."

DiNozzo thanked the communications officer and headed back to his office. He was not looking forward to the officers' mess. He almost hoped a couple of sailors would get in a brawl or accuse each other of theft. Anything would be better than having to sit under the gazes of men who if they didn't resent him for Evan's arrest were uncomfortable with a "navy cop".

But at 1700 he found himself at the door to the officers' mess. He squared his shoulders and put a smile on his face. The captain waved him in and indicated a chair opposite his. The senior officers next to him scooted to make more room. The captain asked kindly, "You know the rest of the officers, don't you Agent DiNozzo."

DiNozzo looked around the table. "Yes, sir. I do." He was uncomfortable, but managed to hide it with a friendly smile. These men knew he had access to all their records. They didn't know if he had looked at them or not.

The officer on his right, a sandy haired youngster, asked "So, Agent DiNozzo, I have to thank you for my having fewer men out or commission. We've never had so little drinking. I don't know how or where they hide the stuff, but we've always had a problem with that before."

"Just doing my job, sir." said the agent. He was nervous, but knew he didn't show it. He thought he could detect a note of sarcasm in the man's voice.

The conversation became more general with the officers discussing various ship board issues. DiNozzo ate what was put in front of him. One of the officers, Cantwell, who was in charge of the gunnery units, asked him if he had gone ashore at the last landfall. DiNozzo told him he had. Cantwell asked him what he had done.

DiNozzo didn't really want to tell them he had gone to a couple of museums and viewed the Greek ruins, but he didn't have an image to maintain with these men. "I went to see the Monet's at the city museum and visited an archeological site." He replied.

One of the other officers, Martinez, who was in charge of the engine room, said, "Me too. I especially liked the water lily series. Next port I can show you a great archeological site. Monoliths from before the Greeks."

DiNozzo smiled and relaxed for the first time in a long time. It was good to talk to someone about something besides transgressing petty officers. If they had heard the news about his father, they didn't make the connection to him. No one brought it up. He didn't know that the captain had expressly ordered his officers not to.

Chapter Two

The next morning, the exec officer handed the captain another email print out. "What the hell?" said the captain. "These guys must have some pull if the SecNav is letting this happen."

The exec said, "Do you want me to tell him. Or do you?"

"No, I'd better. Damn, he told me he hadn't had any contact with his father for more than twenty-five years and that he had been disowned when he was twelve."

The exec squinted and frowned, "What could a twelve year old kid do to get disowned? What kind of a guy would do that to a child?"

The captain replied, "I don't know, but this really is hard to figure. I'd better get down to his office."

The captain went down below to the agent's office. He knocked, but there was no answer. He opened the door. The room was empty. The sleeping bag was gone. He went back up to the bridge. "Call DiNozzo's cell for me. He's not in his office and I don't want to search the whole ship for him."

The exec responded, "I know where he might be. I asked the doctor and he said DiNozzo sometimes takes his sleeping bag up on deck behind the guns. There's a small area there a guy could stretch out on."

"Go get him for me and bring him to my quarters." said the captain.

Ten minutes later the exec found the sleeping bag. DiNozzo was curled up in it sleeping. He looked ten years younger asleep, all the tension gone from his face.

He bent down and shook the man's shoulder. "DiNozzo, wake up."

DiNozzo opened his eyes. He moved out of the sleeping bag in an instant. "What? Who? "His eyes focused on the exec. "Sorry," he said, "I'm kind of restless sleeper. Is there something you need me for?"

"Yeah," said the exec, "Captain needs to see you in his quarters right away."

"Let me at least go get cleaned up. Ten minutes?" asked DiNozzo.

"Sure, but I'm going to go ahead and warn you. It's about your old man." said the exec.

DiNozzo looked down at his feet and then out at the ocean. "Yeah, I figured there would be something. His company does a lot of business with the navy. I've been below his radar for years, but I'm sure he had something in mind to screw up my life after he died. Damn."

The exec looked out at the ocean too. "You know, it's none of my business, but what the hell could a 12 year old kid do to be disinherited?"

DiNozzo sighed, "Damned if I know, sir. Never knew. One day home, and the next military school. God, I hate uniforms. No offense sir."

Ten minutes later, DiNozzo knocked on the captain's door. "Come in, DiNozzo."

He entered. The captain motioned him to sit down. He poured him two fingers of whiskey. "Not allowed on ship, of course" said the captain, "but what's the good of being captain if you can't have a fine whiskey once and a while."

DiNozzo sat, held the glass and watched the whiskey swirl in the glass. "It's wasted on me sir. I never have learned to like it. Beer, now, that's another thing."

"Well, "said the captain, "this is the damndest thing. I don't know how to tell you this, but the SecNav has ordered a helicopter to pick you up in three hours and fly you back to Washington. Apparently, your father's lawyers insist."

DiNozzo grimaced and said "Monarch does a lot of business with the government. A lot. I don't know why they'd want me. I know I was disinherited. Got the official letter the day I turned 18. Apparently, you can't disinherit a minor.

"Your old man must have been one hard bastard." said the captain. "Anyway the bird will be here in ...well, its two hours now. There sending out a replacement. Sorry to see you go, you've done a fine job here. "

"Thank you, sir. I need to go make sure all my files are in order. I need to write up a sitrep for the newcomer." He got up to go.

"Damn, DiNozzo, I wish I had been more supportive of you, but I've been busy with this shakedown and you never asked for help." said the captain shaking DiNozzo's hand. "Good luck with whatever is coming your way. If you need anything I can do for you, just let me know."

DiNozzo went down to his office. His files were in order. There was little else for him to do on this ship. He wrote a note to his successor explaining the ongoing investigations--someone had been stealing small amounts of cash from various seamen and what DiNozzo called "The strange case of the missing baseball gloves". He suspected that the gloves had gone overboard after a particularly hot match between rival gunnery crews.

He stowed his gear in a black duffle bag. He had not tried to make the office personal--only a photo of his old team pinned to the bulletin board and one of Ziva in her bikini. He looked at the garment bag. He took the bag and threw it over his shoulder. If he was going to face the majesty and power of his father's legal team, he was going to look the part. Seaman Wake was happy to press the suit. He fussed over DiNozzo as he dressed. He handed him the freshly pressed trousers, the white shirt and then the jacket. He unrolled the Armani tie. "You look like one of my GQ magazines."

DiNozzo smiled at Wake. They shared a love of fine clothes. Wake was just waiting till his hitch was over to open his own tailoring business.

"I don't know why, Wake, but I feel like a matador putting on the suit of lights.

"Your tie, senor." Wake handed the tie to DiNozzo.

"Thanks, Wake. When you open up your business, put me down for your best suit. I feel a confidence that only fine tailoring can bring." He laughed. He hadn't laughed for a long time, but putting on the suit had made him feel more like himself. Khaki was fine, but this was his armor. "And for the final piece, my Gucci shoes."

Wake sighed, "Gucci, Armani, I hope we put into Milan next trip."

DiNozzo stood on deck, his black duffle bag resting on the ground beside him. He could see the helicopter coming. He ducked back behind the partition to get out of the wind. The captain had come to see him off. He had looked at DiNozzo in the black suit and said, "DiNozzo, clothes don't make the man, but that is some suit."

DiNozzo replied, "Ask Seaman Wake. He could make your uniform fit you like a glove."

The captain shook his head, "I'm afraid my front porch would object."

The helicopter landed. DiNozzo shook the captain's hand and said. "Thank you sir. I know you deflected all the questions the officers wanted to ask and I appreciate it. It's going to be hard enough....."

DiNozzo stopped and his mouth fell open. He was stunned. A figure had emerged from the helicopter. He ran to him, "Gibbs!" he shouted.

"Hell, DiNozzo, you didn't think I would make you face a bunch of your old man's lawyers by yourself, did you?"

Chapter Three

The helicopter lifted off and began the two hour journey back to land. DiNozzo had begun to realize that Gibbs was really here. The noise of the copter made talking impossible, but just having his old boss with him made him feel one hundred percent better about what might be coming his way

Gibbs had clapped him on the shoulders just stopping short of an actual embrace. Then he had climbed back on the helicopter. He opened an insulated box and handed DiNozzo a slice of pizza--sausage, pepperoni, extra cheese. It tasted like heaven. Food on board had been ok, but his favorite pizza and coffee the way he liked it with sugar and hazelnut showed Gibbs had not forgotten him.

The helicopter landed on a pad near a large building --the headquarters of Monarch Industries Washington branch. The two men got off and walked towards a group waiting for them. There were three--two men and a woman, all dressed in what Gibbs would have called "lawyer suits". They followed the lawyers into the building.

DiNozzo gazed out the window of the conference room. CNN,ABC CBS and NBC had large satellite trucks parked just off the company property. There was a line of uniformed security guards denying entrance. "What a circus" he thought. He even saw a BBC unit. "Must be a slow news day,"he said out loud.

The female lawyer, who was obviously in charge, asked him to sit down at a conference table. Gibbs sat next to him. "I've got your six, Tony. "

"Thanks, boss.

The lawyer handed him a file folder and began "My name is Donna Warfield. Mr. DiNozzo, I've been your father's chief counsel for the last six years. I don't know what you know about the." She hesitated, "the reasons your father disowned you all those years ago, but I am going to be reading the will tomorrow at the house in the Hamptons. You need to be present. My instructions are specific."

DiNozzo smiled his best deflecting smile, "Why? I know I am not inheriting anything and I don't really care. I have managed without him and his money since I was 18. I don't imagine anything is going to change."

Ms. Warfield said, "You need to be there. We can fly you up there tonight. Then after the reading, you will have some decisions to make."

DiNozzo turned to his boss and mentor, "Gibbs, I don't want to go there alone." He hated the begging tone in his voice, but the memories of the house were strong and unpleasant.

"Not going alone, Tony. I'm here for you." said Gibbs.

"Thanks, boss. I wish McGee, Abby and Ziva were coming too. I missed them a lot. I'd love to see Ducky and Palmer, too, but...."

Gibbs interrupted, "But nothing. If you want them there, they'll be there."

DiNozzo gazed out the window. "How are they going to run that gauntlet?"

Gibbs smiled. "They're federal agents, DiNozzo. They can figure a way in. Let me call them." He got up and went to a far corner of the room. DiNozzo could hear him talking.

Ms. Warfield asked if they were hungry and ordered one of the two junior lawyers to bring food and coffee from the cafeteria. The remaining junior made some phone calls arranging with the staff at the Hampton house for six additional guests.

DiNozzo stared out the window, trying to figure out why his father wanted him present at the reading of the will. When the food arrived, Gibbs took coffee and after a few sips put it down. Cafeteria coffee wasn't nearly strong enough for him. Ms. Warfield noticed his grimace of distaste and left the room for a moment. She returned with a carafe. "This is my private supply. I think you'll find it a little more to your taste."

Gibbs tasted the coffee. This was more like it. Strong and hot. "Ms. Warfield, you are woman after my own heart."

"Men and coffee should be strong. " she said, sitting down across from him and drinking from her own cup. "And hot if possible."

Too bad she doesn't have red hair thought the marine. He made a sandwich from the assortment of meat and cheese and bread the junior lawyer had returned with. He watched his senior agent. He didn't like the look on DiNozzo's face--apprehensive with an underlayment of what might have been fear. He hadn't seen fear on that face before and could only wonder what in the past might have put it there.

Then he saw DiNozzo's face light up with a genuine smile of joy. "Abby." In a second, he was reeling from her embrace.

"Tony, I've missed you. McGee has too. And Ziva." bubbled the black clad forensic expert.

He shook McGee's hand and nodded to Ziva. He didn't think she had forgiven him for Jenny's death, but she had come. "Ducky! Palmer! It's good to see you guys. So how'd you get by the news folk?"

"We brought pizza. We wore uniforms and carried in dozens of pizzas--we told them it was for the staff trapped in here." said Palmer. "It was McGee's idea."

"Probie," said DiNozzo, "You begin to show creativity. Where's the pizza?'

"Um, we gave it to the staff."

DiNozzo smirked, "You disappoint me."

"But I won't." said Ziva, revealing the pizza box she had been holding behind her.

"You never have," said DiNozzo. He didn't look her in the eye. There were still too many issues between them for him to be comfortable with her. She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. But, too much had happened.

He looked back out the window. He wasn't sure he wanted his friends to learn whatever secret was waiting for him, but he was glad they were here.

One of the junior lawyers whispered to Ms. Warfield. "The helicopter has refueled. There's room for all of you. Your luggage will have to go on the next trip.

Chapter four

The house was surrounded by gardens, but the tennis court on the south lawn was used as a helipad. "Welcome to stately Wayne manor," said Tony. " I can't promise a bat cave but the place is ...."

Abby interrupted, "Huge! My god, Tony, I knew you came from money, but this is like something Madonna would live in."

"Well," said Tony in an approximation of his old comedic turn, "She did live two estates down for a couple of years. And one of the Kennedys used to vacation across the road."

"Wow," said Palmer."It's like a movie star's house."

They moved off the court and ducked as the helicopter returned to the air. It would return in a while with their backpacks and McGee's precious computers. As DiNozzo led them up a stone path, they saw a black clad figure.

"Mr. Anthony. Welcome back."

"Carstairs? Is that you? You haven't changed a bit. A little grayer, but still outbutling every butler around."

The elderly man smiled back, "You have changed considerably. Rosaria will be glad to see you later. She's head cook now."

DiNozzo turned to his friends, "This is Carstairs--he used to smuggle me comic books and introduced me to the joy of movies. We used to watch black and white movies down in the ....." he stopped. "Well, we watched movies."

Carstairs spoke. "We have put out a cold supper in the south dining room. The maids are airing the bedrooms now and everything should be ready in an hour or two."

"Thanks, Carstairs. Is the Versailles room still the pinkest place in the world?"

"Yes, sir. Your mother went all the way with that one." the old man obviously had affection for DiNozzo even after all these years. "I remember when you put Pepto-Bismol on the ....."

"Shh, Carstairs. These folks don't need to know all about that. We'll put Ziva in that room. And Abby can have my old bedroom. Still purple with the canopy?"

"Your father wouldn't allow any of his wives to redecorate. The house is pretty much the way it was, when you....." Carstairs hesitated.

"It was a long time ago. " He turned to his friends, "want the grand tour?"

DiNozzo led them into the house, through what he told them was the morning room. It was a formal space with what he called Regency furniture. He showed them the trophy room which was filled with mounted animal heads. Abby was indignant when he told her that yes, his father had killed most of the animals including the elephant.

"Here's one of my favorite rooms." DiNozzo said as he led them into a leather filled library. "I used to spend a lot of time in here."

"I didn't think of you as a reader," said McGee.

"Not much else to do. I had a tutor in here. Mr. Quadrangle I called him. His name was Quant. Most boring man on earth, but he had a way with the ruler. I can't say he inspired me to scholarship, but he let me read anything I wanted."

Gibbs imagined a small boy, sitting in one of the enormous leather chairs, reading alone. Not a childhood he would have wished on anyone.

Abby said, "You didn't go to school?"

"No, Abby," replied DiNozzo, "not until I was twelve. Mr. Quant taught me academics. Miss Esther taught me piano and when I was six, I got my own private gym teacher. Nicest guy on earth. Taught me to run, play tennis, and swim...the whole thing. And Mrs. Paley, dance instructor. '

"But why?" asked Ziva, speaking for the first time. "Why didn't you go to school?"

He looked away, "I was too delicate...so I was told."

"You? Delicate?" snorted McGee.

DiNozzo didn't have the energy to respond. "Let me show you the bedrooms. I'm beat and tomorrow doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. I do appreciate you all rallying around. It's hard for me to say, but this is.....well, let's just say really weird."

He led them to the bedrooms. "Here, Abby. My old bedroom. You'll love it. I used to think vampires lived in the canopy." He opened the door to a room filled with old French furniture, purple walls and a bed with a purple canopy.

"Wow, Tony," said Abby. This doesn't look like a kid's room."

"Well, it was. Toys had to stay upstairs in the old nursery. My mother used to read stories to me here by candlelight. It does seem a little unusual now, but I didn't know any different."

He showed Ducky to a room decorated in what he told him was Balmoral style--all tartan and plaid. Palmer drew a room with blue silk walls. He showed McGee into another bedroom filled with left over trophy heads. "I thought you'd like this one, Probie. All those eyes watching you sleep."

Gibbs took one look at the room DiNozzo showed him and said no. He was not going to sleep in a room filled with Victorian lavender, so Tony showed him to what had been the maid's room. It was plain.

"And Ziva...this one's for you. The Versailles suite. My mother's masterpiece." He opened the door to a room filled with ornately carved furniture and pink on the walls, the bedding and the chairs.

She tried to grab his hand but he drew away before she could touch him. "No, Ziva. I gotta get some sleep." She watched him go down the hall and up a flight of steps. She decided to follow him.

She found him on the third floor--what had been the nursery. He was sitting on the sun porch, the moonlight giving him an eerily pale glow. He looked out over the night landscape, his eyes staring through the screens.

She said his name. He turned his head towards her. The corners of his mouth turned up into an imitation of a smile.

"I've missed you, Tony."

She sat next to him on the narrow cot. He flinched, seeming to move away from her. He said, "I've missed you, too."

She put her hand on his. He jerked it away. "I can't touch you, Ziva."

She was confused. "Why?"

He stood and walked away from her, turning his eyes back to the landscape. "I always thought it was poetic license when someone said they ached for someone. But I lay in my office at night and I ached for you. Nights I couldn't sleep for longing. Three months at sea..."

She stood next to him. "But I am here now."

"You don't understand. It is taking all my self-control not to grab you now and ...."

She smiled "You want to have sex with me?"

He moved further away from her. Then he turned and gazed at her, his face shining in the moonlight. "No, I don't want to have sex with you."

She sat down on the cot, hurt and confused. He sat next to her, just far enough away that he didn't touch her. "I don't want to have sex with you. I want to make love to you. I want you to make love to me. I want us to make love together, but I can't hold back. I don't think I can stop for you. I want you now, this moment, but I don't want to hurt you."

She reached her hand out and caressed his face. "I want you. Let me be here for you. We will have all the time in the world..."

Chapter Five

The smell of breakfast lured the team out of their rooms early. Gibbs found the coffee satisfactory. Their backpacks and other gear had been left outside their rooms. "Where are Ziva and Tony?" asked Abby as she discovered blackberry jelly and scones.

"We went for a walk in the summer garden." said DiNozzo. He held Ziva's hand in his. She had her free arm around his waist. There was a glow about them which Gibbs easily understood.

"Is there a winter garden?" asked Palmer.

"Yes, it's in the conservatory." answered DiNozzo. He looked serenely at the questioning eyes of his teammates. "Um, you guys might want to go for a swim in the pool or check out the rest of the place. I have to meet with the lawyers. Boss, will you come with us?"

Ziva smiled warmly at the word us, and Abby had to punch McGee on the arm to keep him from gaping. "Sure, Tony."

DiNozzo led him down the hall to what he said was his father's study. He continued to hold Ziva's hand. "I only came in here for "official" business-- To discuss my tutor's reports or for punishments." Ziva squeezed his hand and put her arm back around his waist. "Boss, rule 12 doesn't apply. I'm not on your team anymore." he said.

Gibbs shook his head, "You are always on my team. I have your back. And rule 12 is only for me, I guess. You think I don't know what's up with McGee and Abby."

They sat down in a leather couch in front of the desk. The lawyer had not yet arrived. Ziva said, "We talked all night....we straightened out our issues."

DiNozzo looked at her. "I don't know what I am going to hear. Maybe I find out what I did that made him...."

Gibbs cut in. "No man should disown his child. There is nothing a twelve year old boy could do that would be so bad a man would do that. Not a father."

The lawyer had entered. Ms. Warfield had heard the exchange. "Agent Gibbs, I agree with you, but Mr. DiNozzo senior was an old-fashioned man and stubborn. I have a difficult story to tell you, one which may explain, but not excuse what happened in this house twenty-five years ago."

She opened a file. "Your mother was a good woman. She loved you, but she had three miscarriages before you were born and two others after. Today we would know what she had as post partum depression. Every miscarriage made it worse. She was terrified you would disappear like her unborn babies, so she insisted on home schooling you. Your father didn't know how to cope with her, so he pretty much left her alone. He did try to intervene a little--he made sure you had the gym teacher and took you with him on the Civil War reenactments, but she was hysterical every time you left the house. What do you remember about the summer you were twelve?"

DiNozzo grimaced and said, "I went to bed one Friday night and woke up a month later in the hospital. When I was better, they sent me to military school. They told me my mother died in a car accident and my father had gone to Europe. I thank God that two of my teachers became like surrogate parents to me. Coach Wallace and his wife made sure I stayed with them on holidays. Summers I went to camp. I never saw my father again. I had no contact with him until the letter came when I was 18."

Ziva put her arm around him. The lawyer began again. "Your mother was convinced your father was going to take you away from her. He had decided that you needed to be around other kids and have a more normal life. He had already enrolled you at the military school. That Friday, your mother gave you hot chocolate at bedtime. It was laced with sleeping pills. She took you out to the car, closed the garage door and turned on the car. She died of carbon monoxide poisoning. You only escaped because you vomited the sedative. The groundskeeper found you on the grass beside the garage. You had opened the garage door before you collapsed."

"How horrible," exclaimed Ziva.

Gibbs asked, "But why disinherit the boy? It wasn't his fault."

The lawyer continued, 'She left a letter. She told her husband that the child wasn't his. That she had had an affair with another man. That he was the reason her other children had not been born. Only young Anthony survived because he wasn't his. Mr. DiNozzo believed the letter."

"So all these years I have hated someone who wasn't even my father?" questioned DiNozzo.

Ms. Warfield continued her story. "You got the scholarship to Ohio. Remember when one of your frat buddies got you all drunk and you went to the sperm bank? That was your father's doing. He had DNA test run on the sample. But he didn't open the report. He was afraid that if he had really disinherited his own son,,,, well he didn't know what he could do. So he 'forgot" about it. Then five years ago, he met a marine at a banquet--Sergeant Atlas. He asked your father if he was related to Special Agent DiNozzo and told how you had saved his life, standing between him and a killer. A year later, he met another marine who told him about an Agent DiNozzo who had taken a bullet meant for him. Your father ordered me to prepare a dossier on you. It sat on his desk for over a year. Last year when he learned his cancer was back, he read it. And he read the DNA report. You were and are his son. But he felt it was too late to contact you. But he did redraw his will."

"I don' want his money," said DiNozzo. "I don't want his life. I am a police officer. That's what I know and what I want."

"Let me continue," said the lawyer. "You are the residual heir. After disbursement of a number of annuities to staff and contributions to various charities, the estate is worth fifty million dollars. You can let the money sit. Your father turned over his business interests in the last years and converted his holdings into stocks and cash. You can leave the money alone or use it as you see fit. This house and the house in Aspen are yours as well."

He was feeling a dozen different emotions--sadness, grief blending with the comfort of having Ziva's hand in his. The lawyer continued, "You don't have to make any decisions now.

"I don't want to give up my job. It's who I am. I....." DiNozzo stopped.

"You don't have to, Tony." said Gibbs. "Any one has a problem with you will have one with me."

"And me," added Ziva.

"Thanks." Tony got up. "I need to think. Ziva, come with me. I'll show you the rose garden and the river walk." They went out the French doors to the patio.

Gibbs looked at the lawyer and said, "I can't pretend to understand what was going on in that man's head. He lost the chance to be a father to a fine son. It's a wonder Tony turned out as well as he did."

The lawyer shook her head in agreement. "When I first came to work here, I had no idea there was a son. Then when he had me do the dossier, I was appalled. Apparently, the boy spent most of his time with the servants or by himself. More coffee?"

An hour later, Ziva and Tony returned to the house. They had sat on a stone bench overlooking the river that bordered the east of the estate. Tony had come to a decision about the house, the money and his future.

Carstairs had had the staff set out a buffet, and the team was in the dining room. Jimmy and Ducky had been in the library most of the day, marveling at the wonderful old anatomy books and prints that had been collected there. Abby and Tim had discovered the swimming pool and spent the day splashing around. Gibbs had spent some time with the lawyer before checking out some of the rooms in the house.

Tony and Ziva entered the dining room. Tony sat down next to Gibbs. Ziva fixed him a plate. He smiled up at her as she joined the two men at the table.

"Well, boss," began Tony, "wouldn't this place be great as a recovery center for our vets? The pool, the walks—good for rehabbing. And there are seven bedrooms with their own baths and five more that the servants have used. The garage would make a good administration office once I sell off the cars."

"That's a wonderful idea," replied Gibbs.

Ziva spoke."And the big ballroom on the top floor would be a great gym for physical therapy."

Tony smiled, happy to know she was in agreement with him. "I can put the money from my father into a trust to pay for it." He looked at Gibbs, almost shyly. "We could name it after Jenny—The Jennifer Shepard Center."

"We can sell off most of the furnishings," continued Tony. "Some of the stuff is very valuable, but I don't want any of it. That clock over there—" he indicated a tall oak case clock, "it's worth close to 100,000. That can pay for a lot of remodeling.


End file.
